


Still Waters

by mtac_archivist



Category: CSI: NY, NCIS
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Not Episode Related
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-10-06
Updated: 2008-10-06
Packaged: 2019-03-02 06:05:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13312056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mtac_archivist/pseuds/mtac_archivist
Summary: On the worst night of her life, Abby discovers a shocking secret about her boss.





	1. Still Waters

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Jessi, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [ MTAC](https://fanlore.org/wiki/MTAC), an archive of NCIS fanfiction which closed in 2017. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after August 2017. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator (and this work is still attached to the archivist account), please contact me using the e-mail address on [ the MTAC collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/mtac/profile)

  
Author's notes: Special thanks to Anna for the beta.  
This story is dedicated with much love to AnnieR who won our auction on the Live Long and Marry LiveJournal. Annie, we're humbled by your faith in us and hope this story meets your expectations.  


* * *

Jet and Mac met as young Marines and became lovers after they were wounded in Beruit, falling deeply in love with each other. But Jet had Shannon in his life and soon Kelly was born and he and Mac stayed brothers in arms, but never betrayed his vows to Shannon. Shannon Gibbs died in '91 as per NCIS cannon but Kelly survived and was badly hurt.

Mac and Jethro have been on again, off again for quite a few years in between Jethro's marriages and Mac’s marriage. Since Mac’s wife was lost in 2001, the boys have been more volatile than ever. They probably should break up permanently but they can’t seem to let each other go.

In our universe, McGee, rather than Kate, was killed by Ari, and his death three months ago has brought the boys much closer together.

We’ve played a little bit with the real-world timeline of Hurricane Katrina.

August 2005

Chapter One

It had been a long hard day. Mac had driven to DC after working ten days solid. Jet still needed to settle down after losing McGee to that psychopath Ar and Mac had been spending a lot of time down in DC, trying to cheer him up. Now that Kelly was back living at the dorms at Georgetown, he wanted to keep a close eye on his best friend. And lover.

They’d taken each other hard, had showered and now Jet was downstairs working on the boat, sipping bourbon, his form of afterglow. Mac had ordered some Chinese food and was leafing through a forensic journal, waiting for the food to arrive.

The sound of the door opening yanked him out of the article, and he reached for a gun he wasn’t carrying before launching himself toward the door. “Be right there!” He didn’t even have time to tuck his shirt in.

“Hey, thanks. We’re starved.” He reached out for the bags, but the dark-haired woman just watched him, tears pouring down her face. She was looking around and beyond him, gripping the doorjamb.

“It’s okay, ma’am. I’m a police officer. Come inside. You’re safe here.” He reached for her arm, but she pulled away and whimpered. She was babbling incoherently but he thought he heard “Gibbs”.

“Jet! Situation up here!” he called.

There was something in Mac’s voice that worried GIbbs. He wasn’t going to lose someone else, especially not Mac. “Mac! What is it?”

When he got upstairs, he saw Mac at the door with…Abby?

“Abbs? Hey…hey. What’s going on?” He nudged Mac aside with a hip, pulling Abby into the living room. “Having a tough night, Abbs?”

“Gibbs.” Abby was so happy to see her boss, she didn’t know who the other guy was, but she didn’t care who he was. “More than a tough night.”

Mac gave a confused look and Jet shrugged. He had no idea what was going on with her, or what she’d think of him having a stranger bare footed, shirt wide-open, jeans unbuttoned, answering his door.

“Couldn’t ya button up, Mac?” he didn’t know why he said it, but his lover flushed, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

“You might want to put some clothes on yourself, Jet. I’m not sure how your friend feels about you and your boxers.”

Mac flicked his eyes over him and Gibbs realized he probably looked just as well fucked, even if he didn’t look rumpled. “Yeah, I know, Mac. I know. Abbs? Ya need something to drink? Come in and settle down. We have Chinese on the way.”

“Jack, no glass.” Abby ordered, cautiously watching both men. Both were good looking still, even though they had to be over forty. “You don’t need to feed me. I shouldn’t stay. You know someone who can get me into New Orleans? I need to get down there, Gibbs. I can’t get a hold of my parents, and the neighbor who normally helps them says that she couldn’t find them when she went to get them to evacuate. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t have a good feeling. I need to get down there, in case the levees give out.”

“Both her parents are deaf,” Jet told Mac. He met Mac’s eyes and his lover tossed him his cargo shorts and a T-shirt. Ever the Boy Scout, Mac had brought down some clothes. He dressed quickly as Mac grabbed the bottle. 

“What’s going on, Abbs? The hurricane? It passed, didn’t it? Everything is okay?”

She bit her lip and shook her head and he led her to the den, where he flipped the TV on, and sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her. What had seemed to be a moderate hurricane was more, he could feel it.

“Here,” Mac said softly, handing Jet the bottle. He dropped into a chair, buttoning his shirt up, giving Jet a wince. Looked like they were out, though she was so upset she might not comment for now. Jethro knew Abby would comment at some point. It was her nature.

Jet motioned to the TV. It looked like the hurricane had passed New Orleans, but that didn’t mean a real lot. There could be problems. There would be problems, despite the fact that all the reporters were crowing about how New Orleans had dodged a bullet. “You have any connections down there, Mac? Abby’s folks are deaf and we need to locate them.”

Mac nodded. “Let me get some calls made.” He mussed Jet’s hair and gave Abby a gentle smile before disappearing.

Jet watched him go, a small smile playing over his mouth. “Abbs, he has a lot of connections and between us, we’ll get your folks to safety. I’m not letting you go down there, not if the levees breach. Too dangerous, Abbs. Not gonna lose you. Where is your brother?”

"Steve is in New York. Went up to school early to take some sort of seminar on ASL in mainstream schools. He's been gone about a week now I guess. He's calling me like crazy to see if I've talked to Mom and Dad." Abby tried to relax, but she was still tense. Not even the liquor was helping calm her down. 

"If I have to go down there I will, Gibbs. I need to know my parents are fine. I've always lived with the fact that they are different, but I never felt like I had to be a parent to them. This is scary. Gloria doesn't like watching TV, and my dad tends to hole himself up in his shop and ignore the outside world. They might not have even known a storm was coming despite the evacuation orders.

Abby had promised her brother that she'd find their parents and bring them to live with her. Her house was small, but it was dry and relatively safe. "Your friend, he's more than a friend, isn't he? You trust him to find my parents? I need to know, because if I have to, I'm driving down there, to hell with the levees and the danger that being there entails. I need to know my parents are safe, and I'm not stopping until I know that."

“I’m not letting you go there, Abby. Way too dangerous. If anyone has to go, I’ll go. Or Mac’ll go. We’re Marines, Abby. We can handle a situation that might get out of control.” 

New Orleans was a rough city at the best of times, and this could easily spiral in to chaos. A cute Goth girl would be in trouble. She didn’t like to shoot, sure didn’t keep up on the range, no…he wasn’t losing someone else.

He tried to skirt her first question. “Abbs, I trust Mac with my life. I’d trust him with Kel’s life. If anyone has the connections to find your parents, he’s our man. Ya trust me to know he’s gonna make this happen?”

"I trust you, and I trust your boyfriend, Gibbs." Abby saw the fleeting moment of panic in her boss’s eyes, before acceptance settled in. "You were in your boxers, in a closed up house with another man. Of course he's more than just a friend. And I won't say a word. I love you like a really old brother, so if you want to play with boys, you can. And if your partner can find my parents, I'll stay home. I need to get to them one way or another. And I'm not letting you go down into a hurricane. It's my hometown; I've seen it good and bad. I can handle myself down there. Not even a trained Marine can mange in New Orleans the way a native could."

Oh yeah, they were outed. “He’s not…Abbs, it’s much more than that. Not what you’re thinking. We were in the Corps together. Damn near died. Became…close back then. Both lost our wives, his on 9/11. And you know about Shan. Mac is…it’s complicated.” 

Maybe over Chinese and JD they could explain it to someone who wasn’t their parents.

"I don't care. Mac could be a chick with chest hair and if you're happy, I'm happy, Gibbs. Who you sleep with isn't my business, but I hope you don't mind if I get to know Mac some. I want to know him, and if he really manages to find my parents, then yeah, we're cool. You don't ask me who I'm sleeping with, do you?" Abby didn't want her boss to think that she would care if he were bi or even gay. "We find my parents and then we can drink and eat and I can get to know your boyfriend or whatever you want to call him. I'm good."

Jethro chuckled. “He’s all man, Abbs.” He sighed, nodding. “Not the way I wanted this to happen but yeah. You stay here with us; get to know him. Stay in the guestroom.” She gave him a brave smirk and he rolled his eyes. “Yes, Abbs. The spare room is free. And Mac will make it happen.”

“If it were up to you, none of us would ever show up at your house. Probably how you kept this secret.” Abby was glad to see that her boss was happy and loose. He never smiled at work, at least not willingly. Mac was good for him.

“You don’t want me to stay here. I’ll just be a bother, you’ll be more about entertaining me than entertaining Mac.” But Abby really didn’t want to go home and wait by herself. “You’ve got a weekend off and I ruined it, Gibbs. You should be able to enjoy the rest of it.”

He shrugged, a little uncomfortable. “There’s work life and then there’s not. You’re the only one I can see in both. As long as Mac stays here and never comes in to the office.”

She didn’t understand. How could she? “Mac’s a fixture here, Abby, for a lot of years. You didn’t ruin anything. You stay, eat, drink, and wait for info. With us. Don’t need to be alone tonight, Abbs.”

His arm tightened around her shoulders. “Mac will move mountains for you, Abbs.”

"Why? He doesn't even know me? I really appreciate what he's doing, but he didn't have to." Abby was so grateful, and planned on coming up with something super special to do for both men for helping out this way. "You said he's been a fixture here, but that doesn't mean he needs to do nice things for me."

“It’s the type of guy he is, Abby. I care about you and he cares about me. Therefore, he’ll move mountains for you. Get to know him and you’ll understand.”

“I’d like that. Most people when they meet me will cross the street to avoid me. He just opened the door and let me in. That’s not normal, Gibbs.” Abby knew that the way she looked was a put off for some. The people who knew and loved her had no problems with it but strangers were wary of the goth look. 

“He’s a Marine, Abbs. He could kill you twenty different ways before you drew a second breath. And he knows enough about you to know who you are.”

“I just didn’t expect that, not that I expected to knock and find him here. He’s a good guy, and Gibbs, he’s kind of yummy.”

Jethro smirked, nodding. “The best, Abbs. The best.” He wasn’t about to get into a discussion about if Mac was “yummy” or not.

"And hot. Is that easier for you to say instead of yummy?" Seeing Gibbs at home and relaxed was odd. "I think he's good for you. You don't relax like this at work, or anytime I've seen you out after hours. For that, he deserves a big thank you."

He was starting to get very red, his face heating. “Hot, okay. I’m not used to talking about this. And yeah…” He knew his voice was getting soft. “He’s been good for me for a long time.” He relaxed but he just didn’t show everyone that side of him.

“You just don’t let on. Never would have guessed. I mean, really. How many wives have you had and you still have managed to keep hotness too?” Abby really was enjoying this new version of the boss, the one that could blush. She was going to have to try and make him do it at work some day. “Some day, you’re going to have to tell me the story. Once you realize I’m not going to tell everyone at work. Or, I can get Kelly to tell me? I bet she’s got great stories to tell.”

He sighed heavily. “Three ex wives, Abbs, and Shan. And Mac was married once, but she died.” He hadn’t really kept Mac; it was just that Mac chose to come back again and again when he never should have by all rights. He shook his head. “You won’t worm it out of Kel. Some day you, me, Mac and a couple of bottles of whatever we’re drinking at the time. Nobody down here but Kelly knows him. Ducky’s mom met him a few times but that’s all.”

“I look forward to that night. I’ll bring the bottles of whatever, we’ll break out something really good. I have a friend who makes some sort of berry liquor that even you two manly men will enjoy. I bring the booze, you provide the carryout and we’ll talk relationships.” Abby was curious, and she bet she could get something out of Kelly, but it would involve leather and free drinks which was something Kelly’s father didn’t need to know. “We’ll make a weekend out of it.”

Jethro gave her a gentle smile. “Don’t know how easy it’ll be to get that out of either of us, but do your best, Abbs. He…it’s complex and complicated and thorny as we are. But when it works…” How could he explain it?

“You stop asking why and go with it. I get that part of it.” She was actually pretty jealous of the fact that Gibbs had someone like that in his life. “I’ll listen to whatever you want to tell me. I’ll try not to be too nosey, but once we’ve all been drinking, no guarantees.”

He leaned in close to her, needing to share something. “He’s my equal. Nobody else ever was my equal. And I…” He swallowed, the admission huge because it had been shared with so few people. “I love him more than anyone outside of Kelly. There aren’t words, Abbs.”

How could he tell her that her big, strong boss would fall to his knees and beg Mac for it, how Mac was the only person ever he could completely let go with? How it was just as enjoyable to top as to bottom with Mac? How could he be honest without telling her that and how could he tell her that without losing her respect?

“Mac and me, Abbs. Never seen anything like it before. Power shifts and trust and respect.” And so much more. Maybe they could work up to that in time.

Abby was shocked. In all the time she’d known Gibbs, she had never heard him speak so frankly about anything, and never once about a relationship he was in. “I want you to know just how happy I am for you. I worry about you, boss, and your emotional health. I can see that I don’t really need to do that. You have someone who takes care of you, and who seems to know your moods. I know how much you carry on your shoulders and you take home after a case. I’m glad to know that you have someone here who understands and keeps you sane.”

He looked toward the outer room. “I don’t have him here. New York has him, Abbs. I just borrow him when they let him go.” He needed Mac here, it was well beyond time and just before 9/11, Mac and Claire had been planning the move. He wanted to ask Mac to come down again but was worried about the impact if Mac said no. He and Kelly couldn’t move; her life was down here.

He swallowed hard, needing to bring things back to the subject at hand. She wasn’t going to what could quickly become a warzone. “I was up there in New York just after 9/11, helping him look for his wife. Remember when I went off grid? You aren’t ready. You haven’t seen New Orleans in chaos, Abby, and if those levees go, it’ll be chaos. Looting, armed gangs taking over. No place for you.”

"I'm not a little girl, I can handle my hometown. I'm not going for Mardi Gras; I'm doing a rescue mission. I'm in and out before anyone knows I'm there."

“Yeah, sure. Famous last words. Let Mac work his magic.”

“Yeah, fine.” Abby pouted, but was really glad that they weren’t going to let her go down to New Orleans. It didn’t look so bad, but Abby had a gut feeling that this was the calm before the storm. 

“I won’t lose anyone else, Abby. I can’t let you go down there and risk yourself. We just lost McGee…”

"Tim wasn't your fault and you can't blame yourself. He wouldn't want that, Boss. None of you were to blame, it was that bastard Ari. He's the one behind us losing McGee, not any of you."

“Tim’s gone,” he said softly. It didn’t matter who was to blame, Ari had been trying to take out his people. In the end, that was what counted.

“Yes, he is. But Gibbs, he knew that you had his six. He also knew that what happened was always possible. We had talked about it, when he first started.” Abby’s fascination with the young agent hadn’t just been sexual, she wanted to know what made him tick. They were friends before they were lovers. “He knew that leaving Norfolk meant that his job got considerably more dangerous and he welcomed it. You gave him a chance, which meant more to him then anything.”

“If I had his six, he’d be here today,” Jet replied quietly. “He was my probie. He shouldn’t have gone down like this.”

"No, and Ari never should have made it out of the country the first time, when we knew what he was and he attacked Ducky, Gerald, and Kate." Abby would always have issues with the FBI or CIA or whoever it was that had protected the rat bastard that had hurt so many of her friends. "But you still gave him a chance to do what he really wanted in life. He would have rotted away unnoticed if he hadn't of come to work for you. Tim wouldn't have wanted that. Not that he wanted to end up dead. But he would have been miserable left at Norfolk his whole career."

He couldn’t talk about Tim. It just hurt way too much. His failure, the kid was dead. He was so damn green, too. Kate and Tony, they’d had experience, but McGee was just a kid. “Enough, Abbs,” he ground out in a low voice. His pain was too raw.

Abby knew not to push, and stopped before she could say something else that might upset Gibbs. Leaning up to kiss her boss, she left a little smudge of red lipstick on his cheek. “You’ve got us, and we love you, Boss. Let’s just leave it at that.”

He nodded, looking toward the door and Mac. He’d almost rather talk about his lover. Tim was just too hard a subject to face.

“I won’t push you to talk about anything if you’re not ready. Just know you’ve got a set of open ears when you do want to talk.”

“Two sets. He comes down all the time hoping I’ll talk about it.” And Jet hadn’t been able to yet. Yell, argue, yeah, but talking was another story.

“You should take him up on it, Gibbs. You can’t carry this with you and expect to get better. The longer you hold it in, the worse it’s going to be for you. Already it’s eating away at you.”

He shrugged. “Think about it, Abbs.”

Abby kissed his cheek. “Too damn stubborn for you own good, Gibbs. Let some people in, let them help you even. Mac must love you or he wouldn’t have stuck around as long as he has. Trust him with your feelings, you’ll see a whole new part of your relationship.”

He did trust his feelings with Mac, but he’d been so busy having Mac watch out for Kel that they hadn’t had a lot of time together. “I trust him,” he allowed.

“Then let him know it. Open up. You’ll feel better when it’s off your chest. Trust me, it’s better than a colon cleansing. Probably more pleasant too.”

“Abbs…” he began but didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t explain it, how he and Mac worked. “Enough, Abbs,” he finally said gently.

"Fine. I'm backing off." Abby raised her hands in defeat. "You won't hear me say that I care enough about you to be worried about your emotional state. Not ever again."

“This one hit way too close to home, Abbs. It’s different.”


	2. Still Waters

Chapter Two

Mac grabbed his cell phone from the kitchen table and started scrolling through his contacts. There were several reservists he knew who lived down south, not close enough to New Orleans to get in and get an additional two people out. Having someone who knew ASL or at least had a basic grasp would be helpful. 

Seeing a name, he smiled, knowing that he may have just found the perfect solution. A buddy of his from the force, a detective turned victims’ advocate, had retired about six months ago, choosing New Orleans as the polar opposite of New York. Hitting the dial button, he hoped that Ethan was still in town, or somewhere near there. He wasn't the type to just bail when things looked bad. If people needed help, he generally stuck around. 

Ethan Grant looked at his cell phone in surprise. New York? Mac Taylor? Must be important, Taylor wasn’t someone to call on a whim. Not at a time like this. He looked up at a TV in the firehouse he was helping out at. The levees were gonna go, he could feel it. Whatever Taylor needed, he’d have to make it happen double time. “Taylor, we got a hurricane here, this better be important.”

"Good to talk to you too, Grant. I can't think of anything more important than two deaf adults who might still be in their house as whatever is happening down there is going on. I have their daughter in the den of my buddy’s house, and she can't get in touch with her parents. I really need a favor, I need them found." 

He would owe Ethan, and was pretty sure that his friend would request manual labor for doing this. But helping out Jet's lab tech would make it worthwhile. "Their neighbor who helps out couldn't get them to answer the door, and she's fearing the worst. I can't let her drive down there, which is what she's planning. Tell me that you can or you know someone who can get over to their house."

“I can, signed up with the Guard when I got down here. Have a Hummer. Get me their details, Taylor, and I’ll do my best.” Ethan’s sister was deaf, he knew why Taylor had called him rather than anyone else. “But do it fast, Mac. Things are going down here and if I can’t get it done in the next couple hours, it’s gonna get real bad real fast.”

"Hold on a second, I can get you an address right now.” Mac crossed the house and walked back into the den, glad to see that Abby had calmed down a little. "Jet, I have someone who will drive out and check out Abby's parents house, but he needs to know where he's going. He needs to do it now."

"Here, let me talk to him. I can give him an address and directions and then walk him through a couple of signs, something that my parents would recognize. He's really going to go for them?" Tears were welling back up in Abby's eyes. Here was a man who didn't even know her helping her out and finding her parents.   
"We had a sign when I was little, like a code word. If someone didn't know the sign I knew that they weren't there because my parents asked them. They'll go with him if he knows the sign."

"His name is Ethan, and he's fluent in ASL. Lucked out that he retired down there not too long ago." Mac handed the phone over to Abby, and smiled as the young woman excitedly gave information to his friend.

Mac tugged Jet into the hallway, out of Abby’s earshot and arranged them so that she couldn’t lip read them. "So, are we out?" Mac shouldn't care, they'd been together a lifetime, it wouldn't change. But being together and being out were two different things.

“As out as out could be. What the hell ya thinking prancing around with your shirt undone? And the buttons on your jeans are still open.” Jet flicked the exposed skin there.

“Says the man who thundered upstairs in his boxer shorts. I was going for comfort, and wasn’t expecting anyone to just show up.” Mac had been coming down to DC for years and had never had anyone besides Kelly show up. 

Jet smirked, shrugging. “Shouldn’t have been sanding that close to nude anyway.”

“Is she cool with all of this? She’s not going to run off and gossip to the whole Navy Yard that you have a male lover, is she?”

Jet inclined his head, nodding. “I think she’s going to keep this very quiet. We’re close and she respects me. We’ll establish the rules, Mac. We’ll work this out.”

"Only you could have a groupie who won't ruin you, Beautiful Boy. Me, I'd get some crazy woman who was angry that I didn't choose her. You, you get a funky little Goth who doesn't care that the big bad Marine is sleeping with another big bad Marine. You're lucky I guess." 

Mac liked Abby, at least the little he'd seen of her. Both Jet and Kelly had been raving about her since she joined NCIS. He fully understood why. "If you're not careful, I'm going to steal her out from underneath you. I need a good lab supervisor, and she'd be perfect. Something to shake up the NYPD."

“She wouldn’t last two minutes in that political swamp. You want Abby, you come down here and work for NCIS or elsewhere, like you’ve been threatening.” Mac gave him a curious look and Jet shook his head. “Don’t tease me if you’re not thinking seriously about it.” Mac just continued staring. “Mac, you seriously starting to think about making the move?”

“I’m sick of making this drive, Jet. For twenty some odd years, I’ve made this drive. You’ve come up for just as many years.” They had earned the chance to be together, without the miles between them. “I need a change, and I can’t think of a better one than Washington. My two favorite people who aren’t my parents live here, and they’ve been talking about moving to someplace milder and nearer their grandchild. Jet, it might be time.”

“I’d like that,” Jet admitted softly. “You wanna make the change, my door is wide open. You’d class up the place, Babe. And NCIS would love to have you.” He reached over and placed his hand on Mac’s head, stroking over his hair. “Thought of waking up next to you every day makes my night.”

"Don't know if I could work at NCIS, that's your domain. I wouldn't want to try and force myself in. I'll find someplace to work or something to do. I've got money; I'm not in a rush to just take a job to have one." Mac thought he might be ready to leave New York. He had stayed longer than he should have, because he swore he could still feel Claire there. But it was time to move on, and that meant leaving the city he had adopted as home. 

"When I go back, I'll start looking at my options. See if I can't create an exit strategy. It won't be immediately, but sometime soon."

“Like that, Babe. Really like that.” With Kelly at college, Gibbs had been feeling out of sorts. This would change things, and he thought they were ready for it.

“You’re just looking forward to potentially getting some when ever you want, and not having to wait until we get a weekend off to be together.”

Jet wrapped his arms around Mac’s waist. “So, I like doing and being done by you. You never objected, so why start now.”

He heard a big sniffle and turned to find Abby off the phone, extending it to Mac. “Super Mac strikes again? What’s happening, Abby? Is Mac’s friend able to get to your folks?”

“Yeah, he’s going to drive over there and I told him some of the places they might be hiding. This isn’t exactly the first rodeo for my parents, there’s always potential that a storm will turn ugly.” Abby was feeling much more relieved. If her parents were still at the house, they would be taken out and might have a minute to save a few family mementos. “You said it, Boss, he’s Super Mac. In less than an hour, he made this happen.”

Mac gave her a gentle smile. “My pleasure, Abby. Ethan will get them to safety.”

"I hope so. My parents, they've lived in New Orleans a long time, they know how to prepare for a storm, and they know how to hide. But Ethan said he'd do his best, and I believe him. I guess I'm just lucky all around today."

“Ethan was special forces before he was NYPD, SEAL actually. I have confidence that he’ll find them, Abby.”

“Sure he will.” Abby needed to believe that, needed to know that there was a chance for her parents. “I thought you Marines didn’t trust anyone but your brothers to do work like this? If you trust a Navy boy, then I guess I have to accept that he’s going to find them.”

“I worked side by side with him for almost thirteen years. He’s a squid I can trust.”

"Then I can trust him. Just still a little nervous. My parents, they're independent. They aren't going to like knowing that my brother and I don't believe they can take care of themselves." Being the only member of the family with full hearing capacity was hard enough, but to have to worry this way about her parents was driving Abby crazy. 

"My brother, he's deaf same as my parents. Dad lost his hearing in an accident during the war, met my mom at school learning sign language. She was born unable to hear, so I had a fifty/fifty shot at being able to hear. I guess I won the coin flip. But it means I sometimes have to do things for my family that other kids don't. Like getting them out of town, if they like it or not."

“This is a bad storm, Abby. As bad as the one in the Sixties. How did they cope then?” In a different world, where neighbors cared for neighbors and didn’t brandish guns and loot at the first sign of trouble. 

“Neither my mom nor dad are natives, they moved after they got married, so they got there after Betsy. We’ve had mini storms since then, but nothing like this.” 

He couldn’t imagine being the only hearing child in a family. “You and Jethro ever chat in ASL?”

She smiled, thinking about all the conversations she’d had with Gibbs, including a lot of yapping about coworkers. “I was thrilled to find out that he spoke ASL, it’s really like a native language to me. From the time I could talk, I was learning to talk with my hands as well. I was tutoring at a local school, and some of my students are pretty good, but Gibbs is very good. He can keep up with me when I’m babbling, and that’s a real skill.”

“Did he tell you how he learned it?” Jet had taught Mac back in West Virginia and while he wasn’t fluent, he could carry on a conversation.

“No, and when I looked like I was going to ask, he got all quiet and thoughtful. That’s when we all know to back off. When Gibbs gets pissed, he’s still approachable. He might take your head off, but you’ll survive.” Abby had been monitoring her boss’s moods for years, and always let the new people in the office know the basics about navigating NCIS without pissing off Jethro Gibbs. “When he gets quiet, it’s all over, you have to let him be until he approaches you. Figure there are some things you just don’t mess with. That’s Rule #1864.”

Mac looked over at his lover, who was staring at the TV intently. “I know. I’m well acquainted with his moods and when to push. We have a lot of history there and some of it involves screaming fights when I push too hard.” And Mac knew that he could get away with a lot more than most people could.

“Maybe he’ll tell me when I get you both drunk and pick your brains. If not, it’s still nice to have someone to practice with. My mom and dad appreciate it, I don’t stutter as much if Gibbs and I have been signing at work.” She could see herself totally hanging out with Mac; he was cool and not just because he was sleeping with her boss. She’d have liked him if she had run into him at a conference or on the street. “You going to give me good stuff to use at work to keep him in line? You know better than most I bet.”

“Better than anyone,” Mac said softly. “Been through life and death, Abby. Stopped each other from doing stupid things. I know his every mood, every heartbreak, every bit of agony or pain he’s been in since he was twenty. Every happiness. Was there when Kelly was born, just after Shannon died, when Kel was so badly injured.” He tried to lighten the mood with a smile. “You want the goods on him, I’ll be glad to comply. I could maybe even rustle up some sleeping Gibbs pics. Or just ask him about Toronto and body shots.”

“Body shots? Wow, any chance I can get a replay of that? I don’t even know what happened, at least not really, and it sounds like pure sex.” Abby could imagine the two men together, and it was a pretty clear picture helped by the information Gibbs had given her. “Oh yeah, I’m going to like knowing about you. Plan on getting lots of calls and emails from me.”

Mac grinned, remembering that night. “Have to ask my repressed beautiful boy that, Abby. Compared to him, I’m loose. Wasn’t always that way. He took me to Toronto for a birthday.” Yeah, that had been an incredible night. “Body shots, right on the bar, crowd watching him drinking tequila off me.”

Could her eyes get any wider?

“Never would have guessed it. He hides his wild side well.” At least now she knew where Kelly got her wild streak. Guess the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree after all. “I plan on asking, maybe some Friday night after a long week at work. Gibbs and shots, that’s too much to pass up.”

“Doesn’t come out much,” Mac agreed. “And hardly ever in public. Just not what guys like us do, Abby.” But he was different back then, too. A bit freer. They’d both changed far too much, become too remote, since Claire had died.

“And never in the States right? You’re both repressed.” She understood why, neither was in a field where they could be real open. It just didn’t sit well with her. “You don’t have to be around me. If you haven’t guessed, I’m pretty open. I want you to be able to be that way with me too.”

“Never in the States. Yeah, we’re overly controlled, repressed, you name it. We have to be in our careers. Doesn’t translate very well to personal lives. Good thing we have each other.” Of course she was open; he knew that. It was as clear as the ink on her neck. “Can’t promise but we have a better shot than most with you around. Especially Jet.” 

There were very few people Jet felt comfortable with, and Mac knew Abby was one of them.

"Why with me? I'm just one person who wants to see her boss happy."

“You’re enough like Kelly for him to completely relax, that’s why.”


	3. Still Waters

Chapter Three

The doorbell rang and Jethro put a hand up. “Fill Abby in, Mac, and you do the same. I’ll get the food. You ordered extras, right?”

Mac nodded and Jethro walked out.

“You okay, Abby?” Mac asked softly.

“Better. I’m still concerned. But after talking to Ethan, I’m feeling a million times better. I told him next time he’s up here that I’ll take him out to dinner.” Abby looked Mac up and down, obviously checking out her boss’s man. “I really owe you, too. You didn’t have to do any of this. You don’t even know me. You have no idea how much I appreciate what you’ve done for me and my family.”

Mac shook his head, blushing a little. “You don’t owe me a thing, Abby. Jet and Kel have been telling me about you for years. I’m just glad to be able to help out. Ethan is a good guy. He’ll get to your parents and keep an eye on them.” He sighed, stretching.

“If those were my parents, I’d be halfway there now. If it was Jet or Kelly, I’d move heaven and earth to get to them.”

He noticed her giving him the once over and turned around slowly. “Want me to bend over?” She gave him a confused look. “Well, you’re obviously checking me out. Make it easy for you. How do you want me?”

"Was I being obvious?" Abby wasn't a girl who played coy, but she wasn't often caught. "How you are is fine, if I need to see anything else, I can move. I'm curious though. Have any brothers? Don't have to be younger. I dig older men. You said parents? Are they still married? I don't play with married men, but older doesn't bother me at all. You're out of the question; boss basically peed on you. So brother, father, maybe even a cute uncle would do just fine."

He chuckled, dropping into the seat next to her. “Yeah, you were.” Her honesty was a change from most of the women he dealt with. Outside of Stella and Aiden most of them played games. “Parents happily married, Dad is a dead ringer for Paul Newman. Sorry. no brother or uncles, but I do have some single friends. Lot of ‘em. Up in New York. Always looking for good people for the NYPD crime lab. I run it.” 

Her eyes widened and he cocked his head. “What?”

“Did you tell Gibbs you were going to try to recruit me?” Abby had applied with New York City’s lab before she had met Gibbs and decided on NCIS. It was a state of the art lab, but she had gotten several suggestions about how to look more professional. She’d never wanted a job if it meant changing who she was. “I like where I am. I may not have the title, but I run the lab. I have a great team. Now if you have friends who don’t mind driving down here, I’m interested.”

“I can handle Gibbs, Abby. Years and years of experience.” She would have been an asset to the lab up north but the politics would crush her spirit. “I might be moving down here, but I’ll see what I can do about getting some friends down here.”

"Friends would be nice. You would be nicer. I have some friends in town myself. Other lab rats who are looking for good people. If you're interested I can put some feelers out. I'll leave your name out of it of course. Can't have anything getting back to your bosses before you're ready." It was something Abby could do to thank Mac for helping out with her parents. If he wanted the help that was.

He leaned in close. “Are you flirting, Abby? Because that guy out there? I’ve been his for a lot of years. You’re beautiful and spunky, but you’re not him.” He regarded her for a moment. “I’ll keep that in mind, Abby. Not sure what I might do.”

“No, not flirting. I wouldn’t poach my boss’s boyfriend, I’m not that kind of girl.” Abby was naturally a flirt, but she honestly hadn’t meant to do that with Mac. She was just trying to let him know she’d like to help him out. “I just know people in town is all. If you want to do the same thing you’re doing now, I can figure out who is hiring. If you want to do anything in the forensics field, I have contacts. That’s all it is, you did something really nice for me and I want to return the favor.”

Mac gave her a gentle smile. “I’m not without contacts too, Abby. Wonder if we have a lot of friends in common.” He ran a hand over her back. “You’re young and cute. You flirt with me any day of the week.”

“Just protect me from Gibbs, not sure he’d like me flirting with his hottie.” Seeing as they both worked in the same field, they probably did have some friends or at least associates in common. “It’s kind of amazing that we haven’t met before now, just outside of Gibbs. You’re right we run in the same or at least similar circles.”

“He’s okay with a little flirting, Abby. It’s the hard press that upsets him. And in New York, there’s a lot of hard press going on. I don’t get to a lot of conventions or anything like that, though I write an article or two a year for the journals. I’ve seen your name before.”

“I thought your name was familiar.” Now it made sense, she should have put it together sooner. “I just play at my research papers. If something strikes my fancy, I research it. If I get bored with it, well… I’m not all that interested in fame and fortune doing anything more than what I’m doing now.”

“Those who work, do. Those who don’t, research. The rest of us working stiffs are far too busy to write papers with any sort of regularity. That’s your schedule, right? Or does NCIS let you go soft and get bored.”

“Your lab techs have schedules? More than a phone call saying I need to be in the office? Maybe that would hold some appeal.” She’d never leave NCIS, at least not at this stage in her career. But it was tempting, and a negotiating tool for her next review. “Maybe sometime in the future, I can spend more time writing papers, but for now, I’m happy to be one of those working stiffs.”

“They’re on call, but yeah, we have schedules too. Come to the dark side, we have better funding and better equipment.”

“You don’t have Gibbs. Professionally that is.” Gibbs had hired her right out of college, and she wasn’t willing to leave her boss anytime soon. “I’m sure the dark side has all sorts of perks I can’t even begin to consider, but I’ve got it pretty good too. I’m his favorite; I get more time off than anyone else on the team. All I have to do is ask, no one else has figured that out.”

“He doesn’t play politics well enough for me to steal him away, not that I haven’t tried,” Mac admitted to her. “And yeah, I know you’re his favorite. He really likes you, Abby. And I hear you work that to every advantage.”

“I have been known to work it, but he knows that when it comes time to really settle down and do my job, I will.” Abby glowed, knowing that Gibbs didn’t hide the fact from his partner that she was his favorite and that made her a little more important. “He’s really important to me too. I could have gone to Kate or even Tony but I needed Gibbs to tell me that it was all going to be okay. He’s good like that.”

“He’s calming, he’s in control. I understand.” He did. He remembered those dark days when Jet had taken care of him in the wake of 9/11. “He’s been there for me too, Abbs.”

"It's what he does. He's Gibbs." Abby had never been able to understand why she felt so comfortable with her boss, but she trusted him with her life. "It's one of the mysteries of life, I guess."

“It’s what he does. He picks up the pieces and makes sense when nothing else does,” Mac agreed.

"And it's one of the reasons why we both love him. Anyone who can make sense of my life deserves a medal."

“Mine, too,” Mac said with a sad smile.

He looked up as Jet walked in. “You guys fight about the rest but the sesame beef is mine.”

"But Mac, I love sesame beef." Actually, Abby loved most Chinese food, but being told she couldn't have some made it worth fighting for. "Can't I have just a little? I'll share whatever is there that you want from my plate. I'm a killer with chop sticks, I'll even feed you."

“One piece, but that is all young lady.” Was she ever a flirt!

“Thanks, Mac. You can feed it to me, and like I said, I’ll return the favor.” Now that she had cleared up the flirting issue and Mac knew she wasn’t trying to get in his pants, she was much more comfortable with this little give and take. “Gibbs might like to see you play with someone else. I promise not to do too much damage.”

Mac sucked in a sharp breath and quietly excused himself. That hit way too close to home and he needed to get his equilibrium.

Jet watched Mac go, sighing. “Abbs, I don’t know if I should tell you this but…Mac’s wife. We were all really close. Incredibly close.” He didn’t say more; she was smart enough to connect the dots. “She died on 9/11 and it still cuts him pretty deep.” 

Especially with the hurricane coverage, Jet should have assumed that it would come back on Mac. Maybe that was why he’d come down on the spur of the moment. “Let me check on him, Abbs. Get ya a beer too.”

“I didn’t know, you said he was married but…” She had blown it, really put her foot in it. “Yeah, beer sounds good. I’ll apologize when he comes back. Or if he doesn’t come back too, I understand. I really screwed that up.”

“You didn’t know,” Jet deposited a kiss on the top of her head.

“Still, shouldn’t have just run my mouth off like that.” Abby waved him away, knowing that Mac was going to need someone who wasn’t her. “Go, take care of him. I’ll be here when you two come back.”

He found Mac in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, staring off into space. “Hey.”

Mac sighed. “Don’t know what came over me, Jet. Shouldn’t have left like that.” It still hurt so damn much. He grabbed three beers from the fridge and met Jet’s eyes.

“No, maybe you shouldn’t have. But Mac, we all have our sore spots. Claire is yours, and, to a point, mine. I miss her, too.” Jet knew that they both felt guilty about Claire, that they couldn’t save the woman they were both in love with. “Abbs, she’s feeling really bad. You might not know this, but I do. She never would have gone there if she had known. All I had told her was that you had lost your wife. I should have given her more information.”

“I know. It’s our pain, Beautiful Boy. I don’t need to own it all my own.” He looked toward the den. “She didn’t know and you didn’t have to tell her everything. It’s okay. Just this coverage brings a lot back.” He ran a hand over Jet’s jaw. “Come on, let’s get back to your Goth.

“I didn’t tell her everything. Just gave her a brief overview and let her imagination run wild. She’ll end up fantasizing herself into a tizzy by time we get back in there. She’s pretty much into self entertainment.” That Abby now had a new fantasy staring him was a little disturbing, but if it helped her get through this, he’d allow it. 

“I should have realized that this would be upsetting you. It’s not the same but the destruction and despair is.” Jet knew how Abby was feeling, watching it on TV and not knowing what was happening. He’d driven up to New York, but he couldn’t allow Abby to do that. “We need to keep her mind off of things. I’m thinking we invite her into a puppy pile, and turn off the TV. We must have something around here she’d want to watch that isn’t CNN. Your friend, he’ll call when he has information. She doesn’t have to watch and see if she can find her family in the crowd.”

“Chinese and a puppy pile. Is this an anything goes sort of thing, Jet? Do you want to play with her or can you resist? Because I need you, Beautiful Boy. You’re sleeping at my side tonight, Abby or no Abby. And if I need you, we’re having sex, Abby or no Abby. She can watch; she can join in. Don’t much care, long as the timing and feelings are right. But Jet, we need each other.”

“If we tell her that, she’s going to want to join in. Mac, she’s great but she still is a wild child, and given the chance to go into something even temporary she is going to want to take it.” The thought of Abby in bed shouldn’t have been as appealing as it was turning out to be. “Let’s play it by ear. I don’t want us to make a decision and then regret it. With some woman we don’t know, it would be fine. Not with Abby.”

Mac shrugged and then nodded. “Let’s bring this party upstairs then. You get her and the food, I’ll bring the beer and my cell.” Beer and sympathy, it was a strange way they did things. “Give me two minutes to get comfortable.”

He went upstairs, undressing and pulling on some pajama pants and a T-shirt. Kelly had a bunch of movies here, including the last couple of James Bonds, and he popped one into the DVD player. Due to the crumbs in the bed problem, Jethro had rigged a folding table that went bedside and Mac put the drinks on it, then stretched out on his side of the bed and waited.

Jet found Abby staring at the TV, the food almost forgotten. “C’mon. Mac’s waiting for us in the bedroom. You’re going to get to experience a Gibbs/Taylor tradition, the puppy pile.”

“Do you invite every stray that shows up on your front step into your bedroom?” Abby didn’t turn away from the TV, continuing to watch the news report. “If you two want to go and do something naughty, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m fine here with Wolf Blitzer, he and I, we’re going to be very good friends when all this is said and done. You can go have sex and I’ll be fine down here, Boss. You’ve already done so much for me.”

“No, just the special people, the ones we like. And puppy piles are about friendship and good food not about sex. If I have sex with Mac, I know well enough to send you down here. Raised a kid, I remember.” He pulled her hand up. “Come on, Abbs.”

“Yeah, but your kid is warped.” Abby wanted to fight, to stay and watch the news, but she knew Gibbs wouldn’t allow that once he made up his mind. “Food and friendship. Sounds like something I could use, and two cute guys in bed with me. That sounds pretty darn good.”

“Too bad you can’t tell anyone.” Jethro helped her scoop up the Chinese, rebagging it. “Upstairs, first door on the right.” He went into the kitchen and got the cooler, putting in the rest of the beer and some ice, and towed it upstairs.

Mac gave Abby a nod when she walked in. “You want the middle? I’d kind of like him in the middle. That way I don’t have to reach over you to tickle him.” 

"Oh, that sounds exciting. I can take the end, but I don’t mind the middle." Mac looked better out of the jeans he had been wearing earlier. Definitely didn't look all repressed now, his hair was a little mussed and it really worked for him. "Whatever you two are comfortable with. I'm just kind of along for the ride."

“Take the end for now then.” They’d fucked earlier, but hadn’t actually spent any time together. It had been raw primal need, not of the nudges and touches that might have been a little girly but worked for their relationship. And now Mac was itching at least for a kiss. And having Abby there, well, it could get him hard if he thought about it. 

Mac handed her a beer, grinning as Jet brought the cooler in. “There better not be any bourbon in there.” As soon as Jet was on the bed, Mac playfully pinned him down, kissing him deeply, passionately, dragging his fingers through Jet’s hair and making love to him with his mouth, very aware that Abby’s complete attention was on them.

When they broke apart, they were both panting. “Been needing that, Beautiful Boy.” He traced a fingertip over Jet’s lower lip. “Ready to eat, you two?”

"Oh, I'm ready to eat, just not sure if Chinese is what I have a craving for." Watching Mac and Gibbs was hot, and Abby was having a hard time keeping her hands to herself. “Who needs chopsticks when I have hot men who can feed me and who I can eat off of."

Mac chuckled but his cock jumped at the idea.

"Abbs, that wasn't an invitation exactly." Jethro wasn't embarrassed, but he wasn't sure where Mac was taking this. He was very much in the back seat and letting his lover drive. 

Mac cocked his head to Jet, smirking. He yanked his lover’s shirt off and speared a piece of sweet and sour pork, trailing the orange sauce over Jet’s stomach. “Never one to turn down a great idea.”

He lowered his head, licking the sauce off in slow sweeps of his tongue, breathing in Jet’s scent, the heat radiating off him. “You hungry for some sweet and sour, Abby?”

“I would rather have some of that sesame beef you want to hoard, but yeah.” Abby lowered her head flicking her tongue against the taunt skin of Gibbs’ stomach. “But if you’re willing to share the rest of your meal, and your man. I guess I can’t complain.

Mac chuckled, looking up at Jet. His eyes were hooded, the desire shining. Mac scooped up some sesame beef and paced it on Jet’s abdomen. “Go ahead, Abby. Have a taste.”

"Ohhhh, this is the best Chinese I've had in a very long time." Abby let her tongue trail over her boss’s stomach, tracing the muscle definition. "I get a six-pack on top of my food, not a bad way to spend the night."

Jet groaned when Mac started teasing his stomach. He was getting really turned on and having Abby here, her tongue dipping into his navel. “Mac…”

“Yeah?”

“Mouth. On me. No teasing.”

Mac chuckled. “Not yet. Gotta kiss the Goth first.”

Abby looked up and licked her lips in invitation. "Sounds like a fun new party game. Does that mean we get to play kiss the Gunny next?"

“Yeah,” Mac said on a strangled sound. The heat was radiating off Jet’s body; his body was firming. Ignoring Jet for the moment was a hard task, but he was up to it.

He cocked his head, looking at Abby, those scarlet lips and pale skin, her expression challenging. He moved in close, nudging her mouth with his. When she opened under him, he kissed her gently. He’d let Jet be the passionate alpha tonight.

Abby moaned. She hadn't expected to find this when she showed up on Gibbs' porch, but it was nice and enough to keep her mind off of other things. Pulling back, she grinned at Mac. "You have great lips. Soft and warm, but not all slimy. You're definitely kissable."

“Thanks, I think.” He kissed her again, more deeply this time, mouth moving over hers slowly. He took her hand and placed it on Jet’s abdomen, close to his hardness. “If you want to play, you can,” he said, breaking away from her lips. “He’s so sexy when he loses control.”

"You sure you want me to do this? I understand if you change your mind. I would understand if I couldn't share this way, with someone who you hardly know." When Mac didn't make any move to change his mind, Abby took it as consent. She hadn't heard more than a moan out of Gibbs, but she had to make sure. As her hand hovered over her boss’s cock, she looked up at him. "Last chance Gibbs. I'm willing, are you?"

“Please,” he whispered, eyes wide, body raging. This was different from Claire and they’d both needed that. “Take what you want, Abbs. Unless you’re scared.”

Mac chuckled, hearing the challenge in his lover’s voice. He yanked Jet’s shorts down. “Have a good look, Abby. Tastes as good as it looks.”

“Bastard,” Jet muttered, a chuckle in his voice.

“Your bastard,” Mac slid up, stroking a hand through Jet’s hair. “Let her work her magic, Beautiful Boy.” 

Jethro just groaned, lifting his head, looking down at Abby.”

"Mom always said I shouldn't have dessert before dinner." Abby ran her fingers over the velvety hardness of her boss’s cock. "But I never believed that and I think that you're going to be a main course on top of dessert. You do like it on top don't you Gibbs?"

“Top, bottom, just stop talking and do something.” Seeing her so close, her fingers barely touching him was frustrating. He wanted and needed so much more. 

“Like what you see, Abby?” Mac asked in an undertone. He knew Jet’s body as well as his own. He reached down, rubbing a fingertip under Jet’s cock head, right where the littlest pressure drove him crazy. “Tease him here and he’ll be leaking in less than a minute, especially if you pull it between your lips and flick it with your tongue then drill your tongue into the slit.”

“Don’t tell her all my secrets, Taylor.” Somehow he was naked while Mac and Abby still had clothes on.

“I like what I see. And what I’m hearing. Your secrets are safe with me, Gibbs. No one would believe me anyway.” Abby licked at the hard cock under her fingers, savoring his taste. “All of you is safe with me, Boss. I won’t let anything or anyone hurt you.”

Jet chuckled. It was true. The only living people who knew about him and Mac were Mac’s parents and now Abby.

“Not hurting, Abbs. Feeling damn good.” He motioned Mac up for a kiss, closing his eyes and savoring this moment. For now, their entire world was within these four walls.


	4. Still Waters

Chapter Four

They were lying quietly—even Abby—when Mac’s cell phone rang. He saw it was Ethan and handed it to Abby. “Ethan, Abby. Go ahead.”

"Hello?" Abby knew she was holding her breath. This was going to be good news; it had to be. She could only hope that Ethan had both found her parents and convinced them to come with him. "Did you find them?"

“You sound way too pretty to be Mac,” Ethan said, exhausted. “They’re safe with me, Abby. They’re fine. It got real bad all of a sudden down here. The levees are going. So, I’m gonna go to ground with them, drive at least as far as Baton Rouge tonight. Abby, your mom said that whatever you do, don’t you come down here. Soon as I can get them to DC, I will, but it might take me a couple of days. I’ll be reachable by cell though.”

"Tell Gloria if she had just answered the door, I never would have had to consider going down there." Abby felt like she could really breathe a sigh of relief. "Take your time getting them to DC, just knowing they're on the way out of the city is enough for me and I'm sure my brother. I can't thank you enough, Ethan."

“Oh you can. We’ll find a way, Abby.” He looked at the deaf couple where they sat in the backseat holding hands, and signed to them that Abby would stay put. He turned away, covering his mouth. “I’m just sorry we couldn’t get more of their memories out.”

"Ethan, you got them out. Do I wish you had gotten my grandmother’s tea set and great grandpa's rifle? I suppose, but Gloria and Dad are much more important. The rest are just things, and pictures can be replaced. My parents can't." 

“They took a box full of pictures, and some jewelry, but the levees are going and I couldn’t wait any longer,” he explained quietly. He watched Gloria signing. “Apparently I’m a nice boy and a handsome devil too,” he said with a small laugh. 

“Do you have a place for them? If not, Mac and his DC buddies should be able to work something out. They’re too independent to live with you happily. By the way, nice ink. I’ve seen some pictures of their gorgeous daughter. We’ll have to swap ink stories.”

Pictures and jewelry, the only things that she knew for sure would be left of her childhood, but she had her parents, and that was really enough. "Tell Gloria to stop trying to fix me up. You have to watch out for that one. She was showing you pictures? Means she sees a potential son-in-law in you."

Abby knew that her mother meant well. And at least she was picking men who had a tattoo or two; she was getting better. Didn't mean that the former SEAL was her type. "They can stay with me for a few days while I work on housing for them. I have a friend who might let them come stay with him until something permanent can be worked out. He has a huge house and he and his father take care of his mother. At least my parents are self-sufficient if nothing else. We're going to have a lot to discuss, if I plan on convincing them to move here. Just don't let them drive you crazy. You've got a long drive and they can be chatterboxes if given the chance. Also, don't believe a thing Gloria says about me, and I wasn't born blond."

“They’re fine, Abby. I really like ‘em and I’m glad to help out.” They looked exhausted, the ordeal clearly taking a toll on them. “See how things shake out down here. It could be something minor or it could be a mess.” 

“You’re right. Maybe in a couple weeks, I’ll be driving them back down. But if it’s even half as bad as it looked on the news…” Abby trailed off, remembering the pictures of the live coverage. She didn’t think it was something that looked worse then it was. “I’m just not counting on it.”

He had the radio on and it was getting a lot worse by the minute. “I think I got them out just in time. Mac treating you okay?”

Abby looked over at Mac and Gibbs, seeing two sweaty and tired men. “Yeah, Mac has been treating me great. Never knew he was friends with my boss, but I’m enjoying getting to know him. I think we’re going to be really good friends by time you get here. I’ll convince him to stick around in case he thought he was heading home before you pull in. And you’ve got a place to stay until you figure out if you’re going back down south or if you’re heading off to someplace that might be blown off the map.”

“Sounds like a good plan, Abby. Thanks. Make sure that rascal takes good care of you.”

“That hasn’t been a problem.” Abby reached over and rubbed Mac’s bare chest. “He’s taken great care of me, and he and Gibbs have worked hard to take my mind off of what was going on. Food and movies, the only thing missing is chocolate and if I asked, I’m pretty sure one of them would run out and get me some. I’m staying here until you pull into town, it’s easier to find Gibbs place than mine.”

“Sounds good, sweetheart. I’ll rock up soon as I can and call Mac when we hit Virginia. You call this number whenever you want to and I’ll work translation.” He hung up, signing to Abby’s parents that she was fine, then dug in and pushed the car to its very limits. He had put a pretty face on this disaster and had to get Abby’s folks out now.

Mac took Abby’s hand in his and licked her fingertip slowly. “Your folks okay?” 

“Yeah, at least Ethan says they are. It’s not like they can tell me otherwise though.” Abby was relieved, at least she knew that her parents were on the way out and she could call her brother and let him know for sure that their parents were fine. “I need to call Steven, let him know that everything is fine. He’s been as worried as I have been. He just wasn’t in a position to do anything about it.”

“Call him. Then we want you to sleep, sweetheart. Been a long day for you.” He slowly stroked a hand down Abby’s back

"I'm not tired." Abby dialed the relay operator, if she had been home she could have used her own computer to make the call and not have to rely on someone else to get the news across, but she just hadn't thought that far ahead. "You two go ahead and get a head start on that sleep. It's going to take a few minutes to have this conversation. He's going to have questions and I'm going to have to work with the operator. I know that you have to be pretty worn out after tonight’s activities."

He and Jet knew how this went. “If you insist on watching the coverage at least do it with us here beside you.” He waited for her conversation with her brother to be done and then pulled her into a tight embrace, flipping on the TV.

“Oh fuck…”

Jet blinked a few times in shock. The levees had clearly broken and the city was filling with water. “They’re out of there. They’re safe, Abbs.” Both Abby and Mac wore twin bleak expressions and he just wanted to protect them both.

“Mac, you have to stay in the here and now,” he warned softly.

Mac shook his head and then nodded “Yeah, I’m okay. Abby, what do you need?”

"Turn it off, please. I don't want to watch that." Abby couldn't believe how close she had come to losing her parents, and she couldn't watch the city she loved be destroyed. "I know they're safe, and out of the city. But I still know that if it weren't for you, Mac, they would still be there. I owe you in so many ways. I don't need anything more than what I have right here."

“You owe me nothing, honey.” He gathered Abby close, snuggling her into his embrace. “Let us be there for you, okay? You have two great guys wanting to help you out.”

“Just hold me? Make me forget what’s going on and how lucky I am that my parents are on their way here.” She didn’t want to think about the horror that the people of her hometown were going through. “I’m not used to having someone there to support me, I’m the supporter not the supportee. I don’t know how to do this.”

“All you have to do is breathe, Abbs. Let us do the rest.” Jet and Mac had been here before and they knew how to react. Jet let Mac hold Abby and stretched out on his side, stroking her hair and rubbing her back. “Long as we can draw breath, you’re not alone, Abbs.”


End file.
